Cleaning compositions must be effective at cleaning, i.e., removing oily or waxy soils. At the same time, there is a balance to be struck between effectiveness in removing soils, inertness to the underlying substrate to be cleaned, and convenience and safety of the user. More recently, there has been a considerable interest in developing environmentally friendly cleaning formulations as well.
While no single definition of “environmentally friendly” exists, it is generally accepted that materials derived from biorenewable resources are sustainable for the environment. Moreover, in some countries, percent by weight volatile organic content (VOC) limits are being regulated. For example, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has proposed further reductions to VOCs in general purpose cleaners from 4 percent by weight to 0.5 percent by weight by Dec. 31, 2012. For purposes of the application, VOCs are those carbon compounds with a vapor pressure greater than 0.1 mm Hg at 20° C.
Accordingly, a need exists for safe, effective, non-damaging, environmentally friendly cleaning compositions.